Nick's News

5th at Ironman Regensburg

Nick came 5th with a time of 8:33:19 in a race won by Faris Al-Sultan in Regensburg, Germany.

Report to come soon!

May 2010::

17th at Tri Grand Prix

Nick decided with all the ash clouds, flight chaos and $$ that he would take an offer of a place in the Tri Grand Prix on May 30th in Kent, UK. Some serious names in professional triathlon raced, some good prize money and Nick cruised into 17th spot.

Check out their website at the Tri Grand Prix page.

May 2010::

2010 Season outlook

Nick is gearing up for Switzerland 70.3 in early June then Ironman Regensburg in Germany in early August prior to getting the mind and body right for Kona at the end of the year.

Check out the latest Schedule to catch up on where Nick heads to next.

Top

4th at Ironman Florida

Returning to Ironman after an unfortunate 12 month gap Nick brought the frustration of time away to the surface and cruised to 4th in Panama City, Florida.

Nick typed a report for Tri247 - check that out here: IM Florida Report.

Check out some shots of him racing in The Gallery.

REMEMBER to check out Nick's new blog, leave him a comment too!

Top

10th at Austria 70.3

Nick came 10th at St. Polten, Austria on the weekend in a very strong field that included Chris McCormack.

Report coming soon we hope!

REMEMBER to check out Nick's new blog, leave him a comment too!

Top

2nd at Rennes OD

Nick has forwarded some words published locally on Jersey to report on this race:

Local Professional Triathlete Saunders makes his mark in Rennes

Local professional triathlete Nick Saunders, sponsored by Pedal Power, took to France this weekend to represent Jersey with three other local triathletes Doc Snook, Nick Le Cocq and Matt Gambles to compete in the Rennes Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) triathlon with some 230 other competitors.

Unknown to the Jersey contingent whilst in previous years the race has been draft legal this year the rules changed making drafting (cycling in packs) illegal with marshals providing time penalties for any infractions. Whilst this change in rules meant they may be at a disadvantage with the equipment they had taken for the bike section Saunders was to prove it was not all about equipment.

From the gun Saunders was in the leading small group on the swim with Snook following closely behind out of the water. The bike course was 5 laps of a technical circuit that Saunders worked hard on to catch and pass those ahead of him out of the water whilst chasing Le Cocq, Snook and Gambles did their best to move up their positions on the fast and hazardous course. Saunders came into transition in 2nd place off the bike managing to move up a position but did not manage to catch the race leader on the 4 lap, 10km run around the lake coming in an impressive 2nd overall. Le Cocq managed to edge past Snook after a strong bike leg into transition and maintain his 11th position to the end of the run, Snook coming in 14th and Gambles 43rd and a very respectable 8th in his age category.

Saunders' next race will be in the Austria 70.3 event in two weeks in final preparation for Ironman France in Nice in June where he will competing with Snook in what will be Snook's first Ironman event. Le Cocq and Gambles will be competing in the Switzerland 70.3 (half ironman) event in June.

REMEMBER to check out Nick's new blog, leave him a comment too!

Top

5th at National Duathlon Elite Champs

Clearly Nick's speed isn't too bad right now as he smashed 5th in the Duathlon Champs against some well known very fast elite athletes.

Result list at TRI247 HERE

REMEMBER to check out Nick's new blog, leave him a comment too!

Top

News & updated schedule

Following his recent car crash and therefore change in racing Nick has changed his schedule.

Nick has also launched his BLOG, which has started slowly due to his car crash and travels to Stellenbosch and back, but he is now back in Jersey and starting to fire again.
CHECK OUT THE BLOG AND CHIRP NICK UP!

Top

Nick in car smash!

Nick had a car crash on his way to a triathlon in South Africa on the weekend, quite some escape, news came in via his email and Tri247 website - more details here (scroll to the bottom):
He's ok as far as I know, more news to follow.

Rik

Top

Nick loves the snow

" This is what I woke up to this morning!? (the dog charging around in the snow)
I am off to South Africa on Thursday(5th Feb). It’s a good time to be leaving the UK with the weather going to pott! I am sick of the turbo and looking outside to see if the rain/snow has passed. Somehow I have managed to get most of my training done.

I have been doing around 20-24 hrs a week consistently now for the past 9 weeks apart from the Xmas period so I am very happy with the shape I am in for this time of year. It means i’ll get to South Africa in good shape and with a headstart so to speak. Last year I got there in ordinary shape and spent the first 2 weeks trying to get into reasonable shape. The swimming really hit me hard last year as I was swimming with the university sqaud and that was tough and it made the cycling and running harder.

I’ll be joining Tim Don and Fraser Cartmell who are out there at the moment training for their respective distances and are in good shape having both had good results at the local 70.3 race. I checked out the field for the South African IM on April 5th, there are some good athletes entered(checkout www.ironmansouthafrica.com), a better field than last year so I will have to bring my A game if I want to qualify for Kona as I am sure all those entered will be thinking. I know that if I can keep my training consistent and stay healthy that will happen. I’ll post more news and photos when I am in South Africa.

Nick "

Top

Autumn catch up with Nick

"I recently returned from my holiday in Aus and I have been in training for a couple of weeks. The exciting news for me is that I have found a coach in Ben Bright. I am very excited and looking forward to working with Ben. It has taken a while to find a coach and I probably should have got one last year, I was looking but could not find the right one for me. I made more of an effort this time around. I feel I need to do this sport properly and to do that I need direction and someone to monitor what I am doing, the last two years I have been doing my own programs and training on my own. I guess I got to the point at the end of the season where I exhausted all my knowledge and motivation and felt to take it to a higher level a coach was needed. The motivation to train is always there but it is easier when it is written down for me and I am accountable to someone, especially someone like Ben Bright who is a great coach and has a lot of knowledge and experience in both racing and coaching.

I am here in Jersey until Feb and then I head out to South Africa to prepare for IM South Africa.

I’ll post a blog again after a few weeks of training, it’s going to be tough as I have not done much over the last two months, I am mentally refreshed though which is important and I am raring to go. Happy training.

Nick "

Top

End of 2008 reflection and round up from Nick

" Just a quick roundup of the past season, where it went wrong or right for that matter and plans for next year.

As with every season that a triathlete starts they have plans and expectations. My main goal was to try and qualify for Hawaii at either IMSA or IM Switzerland, I failed in that goal and set out to qualify at IMUK, however a few weeks before IMUK I decided not to take my spot at Kona if I qualified. Reasons for that being it was just a bit too expensive to go plus I was mentally tired and I don’t want to go into a race in that frame of mind, I was barely up for the UKIM as it was.

So to go through each IM race:

IM South Africa: I had 8 weeks of preperation for that race, I went out to Stellenbosch to train with Tim Don, when I say train with Tim I mean I swam with him and would start his bike rides with him and then would do more on my own. I did my long runs with Tim as well and these were tough. I got struck with a stomach virus on a couple of occassions which put me back a bit but this will happen in most lead ups to an IM race. My swimming was good in Stellenbosch as I was swimming with the university sqaud which is world class. Cycling was solid and my running I felt could have been better. I think the race reflected my condition, the run is what let me down. I finished 6th and missed my spot by one place, bummer!

IM Switzerland: Out of the 12 weeks that I had to prepare for this race I spent 6 of those preparing in France so had some good weather, swimming was not great as I swam on my own and I can never find a pool that opens early in the morning in France unless you swim open water. Cycling as you can imagine in France was awesome and I got some good miles in. My running was solid and I felt that I was in sub 3hr condition, I had been doing a bit more track and had been working on holding 4 min pace per km. The race was a bit of a dissapointment due to the weather, I’d like to think I would have done better if it had not rained for most of the race and I had been a bit warmer, I ran a lot better and just broke the 3hr mark. I missed out on my spot by one! A bit of a set back! I was pretty sure that I would qualify and I now had to make a plan C so entered the UKIM. This was a bit of a gamble but I had to get to Kona and this was my only option on my budget.

IM UK: I have to say I don’t like this race. It is a seriously hard course, the road surface is not the best, a lot of the run is off road and most importantly the weather can be rubbish which it was on the day. Leading up to the race I was in Jersey and the weather was not the best. Coming from the southern hemisphere I do like a bit of sunshine, I try to stay positive which I manage to do most of the time but it just got to me leading up to the race and as a result when I arrived in Sherborne I was not too keen on what lay ahead on race day. Preparation leading up to the race had gone well, I had worked a bit more on the second half of my marathon, however I don’t think I had done enough on the bike and it’s not a course where you go under prepared on the bike. As a result I think I suffered a bit on the marathon, mostly due to my negative attitude though as I was very keen to pull out during the run, I just wanted to head home and put my feet up and have a few beers! I finished 5th, I had qualified but as I pointed out earlier am not going.

It’s time to have a break, if I had qualified earlier I would have been ready for Kona as it would have been 12 weeks between races but doing another IM in 5 weeks would have been a bit much for me I think, I always knew this might be the case. I am happy with my season, I have moved up into the top 5, I am still off the pace against the best guys in the world, I would like to cut that back to around 10 to 15 min and I think that time is in my run, if I can run a 2.50-55 then that will put me up there. It’s in the second half of my marathon where I am struggling so I need to work on this. How am I going to fix this? Well I reckon I need a coach. I have been doing my own programmes since moving to the UK plus training on my own most of the time. Also I will try to get some financial sponsorship which will allow me to train in warmer climates a bit more and it also helps the mental state. At the moment I get great product support which makes life a lot easier. It’s just the expenses that need to be covered, mostly the travelling.

Plans for next year are IMSA and IM France, I get married in July and then hopefully Kona. I’m off for a holiday in Australia which is much cheaper than a Kona trip and then back into training when I get back.

Looking forward to next season.

Chinja

Nick "
 

Top

Ironman UK - 5th place for Nick

Some pretty crappy weather around for this year's Ironman UK - not the best thing for a tough bike and run course.
Report from Nick...

" Last week when I was getting ready to head off to IMUK, I was sent an email by Doc Snook with news of a weather warning for the UK: expect rain, wind and not to see the sun! The two days before the race it chucked it down and somehow on race day the weather gods decided to turn off the tap over Sherborne but turn up the fan and keep the blanket of cloud over our part of the world. I suppose we should be thankful for that. It was still quite cold though, I think it was around 15-16 degrees. Autumn is definitely here.

The men's field was solid, with Stephen Bayliss the favourite, Spencer was back and last year's winner was defending, plus the likes of Fraser Cartmell doing his first IM race. It is always going to be a tough day with the course being one of the toughest on the IM circuit, with a few changes on the bike and run course it was harder than last year. When you throw in cold tough racing conditions it makes it even harder.

Waking up on Sunday morning I was not that motivated. My last IM race in Switzerland had similar conditions and the thought of going through that again was not inspiring, I knew I was going to do it though.

The swim was delayed due to bad light and the organisers trying to get us to move back between the buoys, we were eventually set off and I settled into the second pack and ended up 4 to 5 min behind the leaders by the end of the swim. Out onto the bike and dressed for a cold day I tried my best to limit the gap. By the end of the first lap I was told I was 12min behind the leaders, they pushed it hard on the first lap but slowed a bit and by the time I ended the bike I was around 8 mins down. My bike time was 5hrs 11min, I averaged just under 35kmph. An honest bike course! It's the kind of course where if you are not going up you are riding on a rough surface and if you aren't on a rough surface you have a head or cross wind. There is not much chance of an easy section apart from a steep down hill were you hang on for dear life.

Heading out onto the run I was in 5th, I was overtaken during the 2nd lap by a fast running Austrian but then Fraser Cartmell pulled out choosing to save his legs as he has the World 70.3 champs coming up. I was so tempted to pull out during that 2nd lap and I was having a war of words in my head and sometimes out loud to myself to carry on, I was in the money and if I pulled out I would only regret it, plus it was the last race of the year for me having decided not to do Hawaii if I qualified. After the previous two days of rain the off road sections of the run were quite muddy and along with the undulations it made it a tough marathon. As with all IM races I was happy as ever to make it to the finish line, the sense of achievement for this one feels good. I was hoping to get at least 3rd but I just did not run fast enough.

Great to see Stephen Bayliss win on home soil, something I know he wanted badly, good to see Spencer back and watch out for Fraser Cartmell, he showed that he has the swim and the bike and with more miles in his run training he is going to be a force in IM in the future as he already is in 70.3.

I am chuffed with my year, two 5th's and a 6th in my IM races. Next year I am planning to do IM South Africa and France, a race I have always wanted to do.

I have had great support from Planet X this year and a big thank you goes out to Dave and his team and to Profeet and Rik for my website, High5 and Orca.

Chinja

Nick "

Top

Ogier Jersey Triathlon report from Nick

" The Ogier Jersey Triathlon was run on Sunday and this year saw, by Jersey's standards, a capacity field of entrants, around 94 individuals and 6 teams. Race morning was overcast and a little windy but at least it was dry, rain was forecast but nothing serious by English summer standards.

There were about 30 or so UK entrants, a few from France and not forgetting the usual exodus from Guernsey.

The race was set off at 7am by Jonathan White, he's the boss at Ogier. You won't get better starts than the one in Jersey. I can call it quite a relaxed start compared with other triathlons, where it is like a free loaf of bread was thrown into the Zambezi river from the Zambian side. It's a beach start and then 2 laps of 750m. I was out in second place in 20.38 behind Steve Price who was employed as my domestique for the swim, I owe him beers, that's his price and he does not come cheap.

The Frenchmen Nicolas Therreau followed close behind. He races for Les Sables Vendee Triathlon club in French Division one apparently. He proved to be quite strong on the bike and set off at a good pace and I struggled to keep up, he dropped me on the second climb going up Corbiere Hill after about 15k but I managed to reel him in going down our longest road in Jersey called 5 mile road but which is actually 5km!

The honoury policeman who served in 1902, when bikes were the fastest form of transport, was not at the end of 5 mile road this year demanding that we have bells on our bikes and threatening us with a citizens arrest. I think he was at the top of Corbiere Hill where he sent Nicolas Therreau's team mate the wrong way and he ended up doing the hill twice. Riding with myself and the Frenchman was Alistair Cann who was racing in the team division, a pretty handy cyclist. In 3rd place a couple of minutes down was this years revelation in the Jersey tri scene, Nathan Woodland, who has made big improvements since last year followed by Thomas Prechard and the bulk of muscle formerly from, (and also my former homeland), the inflated Republic of Zimbabwe, Doc Snook.

After being dropped on the hill by the Frenchmen my tactic has to hang in and not do too much work at the front, I wasn't feeling as good as I was last year where I was able to ride away. Coming back into town down from the suburb of St Peters Valley, Alistair Cann picked up the pace and I hung in, I looked back once we were down at the bottom of the hill and noticed that we had dropped the Frenchmen and found out later that we had put around 25 seconds into him.

Coming into transition and being unaccustomed to quick transitions since starting Ironman, I did my best to get the running shoes on and headed off for the run. It was drizzling by this stage and summer had arrived in Jersey once again. It was two laps of 5km. I pushed the first lap and had 40 seconds on Nicolas Therreau and a few minutes back was Nathan Woodland who was putting in a strong final leg. I eased off a bit on the second lap (or was I just tired?), and crossed the line 18 seconds ahead of the Frenchmen in 1hr 56min and Nathan came in 3rd in 2hrs 42 seconds.

Alan Rowe was the best place Guernseymen in 4th, (he's a vet by the way and had the fastest run), and Thomas Prechard rounded out the top 5 for the men. Nick Le Cocq just missed out on the top five and came in sixth and for those Doc Snook fans he came in at 10th. A solid performance for a former front-rower!

In the women's race it was a fairly fought contest, I may have got this wrong, I got the results from a disorganised spreadsheet so apologies if it's not right but I make it: 1st, Gail Merrien. 2nd, Shanine Johns and 3rd, Nicola Gardner.

Next year promises to be a bigger event and with global warming better weather is promised so keep driving everywhere in your 4x4, not really, just kidding. It's a fun event and the organisers would like to keep it that way. I believe Ogier may up their sponsorship even with the credit crunch, rumour has it recession is around the corner so it would be cheaper than heading to a far off destination, I think! Jersey has some good beaches and has a different feel to it than the UK so anyone who would like to race somewhere different it comes recommended.

Chinja

Nick "

Top

Ironman Swiss report from Nick

" I arrived in Zurich the Wednesday before the race, I was warned how organised the Swiss were and to make sure I knew where to park as you will get a parking ticket, I organised parking permits only to get a parking ticket for parking in the wrong zone! I was also told how good the weather would be, this did not disappoint, it was hot and sunny and the place was buzzing with summer excitement. Then the rain started to pour on Saturday and the forecast for Sunday was not good either! I, as many were, was looking forward to a race in good warm conditions, not to be!!

We woke up on Sunday morning to the sound of rain, for someone from the southern hemisphere this is a bit demoralising to say the least. The air temperature was a bit on the mild side and it was forecast to clear later so there was some hope. I got to a very wet transition and set the Stealth up and got under cover to get ready for the swim, the water temperature was surprisingly warm, ironically probably too warm (around 21 degrees), I wish I had a sleeveless wetsuit, would've been handy!

The 60 pros were set off 5 minutes before the 2350 or so age groupers at 6.55am. I did not have a good swim, I got out in 55min, just felt like I was going too slow but could not go any faster and I felt a bit warm in my wetsuit. I should have made the most of this because when everyone exited the water there was no chance of getting dry, it was chucking it down! The only thing that was dry was my bike thanks to the massive bike covers the race organisers provided, but this was not for long. Out onto the bike course and and into the rain and one had to try and keep the pace up to try and keep warm, it didn't last long, after about 30km the hands and feet were numb with cold, I just tried telling myself that it was the same for everyone else and that I was going to finish this race no matter what. I don't train for months, come all this way and not finish! There were times when I did not want to carry on, I have never experienced a race were it has rained like that, call me a wimp or whatever but I just don't like it. Anyway, the rain kind of stopped after about 120km into the bike ride and I started to warm up and could pick the pace up a bit but there was still the odd shower and there were a few corners and decents where one had to take care. The support out on the bike course was great, the legendary hill called the beast was like a small hill section of the Tour de France with crowds parting as you rode up the 800m climb and ringing cow bells and screaming their heads off, there were also bands playing on various parts of the bike and run course.

I managed to finish the bike in 6th place with a bike time of 4hrs 49min after exiting the water in 13th so I was happy with the progress. My goal coming into the race was to try for the podium to guarantee Hawaii qualification. I set off at about 4min km pace and was making ground on 3rd and 4th place, all was going well and then I guess fatigue just set in and my pace slowed right down after about 32km and the Hawaii slot ran away from me. It's down to training at the end of the day, I did not go out too hard, I trained to run that pace but just did not train long enough. The positive for me is that I ran just under 3hrs so things are heading in the right direction even if it was only by one minute. I want to run 2.50 pace. With a solid bike and swim that will put you onto the podium of most races. That was Ironman number 10 for me, I have finished in the top 10 in all but two of the races but it is time to start making the podium which will be my goal.

Well done to all the Brits that finished, there were a lot out there, in the nationality ranks they were 3rd with only more Swiss and Germans. I think there were close to 250 or so racing. Well done to James Gilfillan, he completed his first Ironman and was 11th pro. I know he also struggled with the weather but it's a credit to him that he finished. The same to Andy Brodziak from Profeet and Richard Sutton, I was staying with them and I can tell you morale on race morning was low when we saw the weather but we all finished.
Whats next? Hopefully IMUK if I can get a start, I know the race is full but fingers crossed.

Chinja

Nick "

Top

July 13th 2008::

5th At Ironman Switzerland

Nick battled hard to finish 5th on a day that saw some Pros not even start the race, and some withdraw during the bike, in very testing conditions in Zurich, Switzerland.

Report to follow from the man himself soon...once he's warmed up...!

Top

4th At Half Ironman UK 70.3

" I woke up on Sunday at 3.15am to get ready for the UK70.3 race at Wimbleball lake for the earliest race start that I know of, 6am! Getting into the car to head off to the race the temperature read 3 degrees celsius. It felt more like winter. By the time we arrived at the race car park it had 'warmed up' to 7 degrees. Got to love summer?

After all the pre race hype of who was racing one was finally able to see who had turned up when I went into transition. There were a lot of empty bike spaces. Not sure why Macca was not there, Spencer had flu and others were entered but were a no show. Still there were some class athletes starting in both the mens and womens field. Defending champ, Fraser Cartmell, Stephen Bayliss, Luke Bell, Scott Neyedli, James Gilfillan and Bryan Rhodes were the names that stuck out in the mens field. In the womens field Julie Dibens and Bella Comerford.

This year it was a deep water mass start, the lake had fog passing over and it reminded me of the UKIM in 2005. It made it hard to see the bouys, the pros were given a a 10m gap and the start as usual was fast and furious. The water temperature was not warm, the official temperature was 17 degrees but I am guessing it was a few degrees below that. I was cold! I did not have a good swim, I really felt the cold, I am swimming better than I was this time last year yet my time was over a mintute slower than previous years. I ended up swimming on my own for most of the way. I came out the water in 12th place and cold. I thought the 400m run up the hill would warm me up but no chance.

Out onto the mother of all half Ironman bike courses it's always going to be tough.There is just no let up, so be prepared for a hard day. I decided to just go for it, if I blew up so what. Dave at Planet X said he does not mind how I do overall just have a good bike time or the fastest, so with this in mind and cramping legs from the cold wearing very little clothing were most would have winter gear, I headed off into Exmoor. I managed to pass a few on the bike, a very cold Bryan Rhodes and Scott Neyedli and rode myself into fourth place. Ahead were Fraser, Stephen and Luke Bell. They were setting a good pace in the conditions. It started to rain on various parts of the course which made it a bit scary, especially on the decents. Try going down a hill at 70kmph into hard rain when you are cold, it hurts! On the second lap I passed a few of the back markers walking and pushing bikes up some of the many hills, hard to do wearing bike shoes with cleats! Riding back into transiton was a relief, like the swim I rode the whole bike section on my own and the run would be the same.

Heading out onto the run it felt like I had no feet and it took at least one lap to start getting some feeling back. The top 3 were a good few minutes ahead so I tried my best to narrow thier lead. I only managed to put a very little time into Luke Bell but they were too far ahead. Fraser and Stephen were putting a good race on for those watching and as a result smashed the run record as well as the course record, Fraser crossed the line a lucky 13 seconds ahead of Stephen with Luke Bell rounding off third. I held onto fourth having raced most of the course on my own, a lonely day! Great result for Fraser and Stephen as consistant as ever. I the womens race Bella was victorious, she is just as hard as nails when it comes to racing, she is having such a good year and may it continue. Julie dibens was second and age grouper Sara Moeller third, a good day for her.

799 athletes managed to cross the line, around 99 were unfortunate not to finish. Well done to everyone who was brave enough to enter and 'turn up' to the toughest 70.3 event and thanks to the organisers and volunteers.

Next event for me is IM Switzerland(July 13th), watch this space for the race report. I will hopefully have a good result to report on.

Chinja

Nick "

Top

Post IM South Africa chat

" So IM South Africa is done and dusted. I had a reasonable day. I finished 6th which I think is a solid result considering the field, there were a few good guys entered. Raynard Tissink who desparately wants to win this event, Zamora Perez, winner of IM France and Monaco 70.3, Francoise Chabuad, solid French guy not sure of his results but he’s strong on the bike! Stephen Bayliss, no need for an introduction, I’m sure most of you reading this know he’s up there to challenge in any race, throw in a few Germans and you have a strong field.

My swim went to plan, I was out in just over 50min and with the second group. I tried to match the pace of the pack I was in which included Stephan Liebetrau and an Austrian with a name I can’t spell or pronounce (he came 3rd overall). I fell off the pace after 70km and was lying in 10th or 11th, I was megga chuffed with my bike by the way, very comfortable and I had no back pain for a change! I stayed in this position and headed out onto the run with heavy legs as most do. The run was a three lap 14km loop so you got to see who was ahead and I worked out I was in 10th spot. Stephen Bayliss was looking the strongest in about 6th and the rest looked tired. Francoise was in the lead and Tissink 2nd. By the start of the 3rd and final lap I had worked my way up to 7th and overtook Zamora Perez who was hurting pretty badly and not having a good run, I think he had stomach trouble. I was cramping a bit at this stage and survival mode kicked in for the last 10km. I crossed the line 6th in 8hrs 42. Stephen Bayliss was first across the line for his first IM win in 8hrs 18 and Bella Comerford pulled out a gutsy 5sec win, she had a sprint finish.

So a good day to get into the top ten but I did not qualify for Kona so hopefully I can do this in Switzerland in July.

Happy training

Nick "

Top

6th at IronMan South Africa

Nick finished 6th at Ironman South Africa today after having a rocky few weeks leading up to the race with some illness.

Words to follow from the big man....

Top

Training hard in South Africa

" It's been 4 weeks of hard training since arriving in South Africa. I took the first week a bit easy as I had to get used to the heat which on one ride got up to 40 degrees celcius! I have had a few hiccups which is always expected and had to take the odd day off but generally training has been consistant. Doing about 30-35 hours a week and if I can hold that for the next 3 weeks I think I will be in good shape. It has been great training with Tim Don and a few other of the UK based athletes who have been out here for a while but they are all leaving this week.

I am enjoying my new Planet-X Stealth, I am very comfortable on it and happy with my position and it does feel very fast on the flats and rides well into the wind which is what I need in Hawaii when I hopefully qualify.

So generally things are going well here and I am looking forward to racing on April 13th.

Chinja

Nick "

Top

Planet-X Sponsorship deal announced.

"I'm stoked with the news that I'll be riding for Planet X! I should be getting my new Stealth Pro Carbon race bike with 82mm front and 101mm back Pro Carbon race wheels any day soon from Dave at Planet X. They are fantastic bikes and I'll have more news on how it rides when I get to South Africa. I'll also be riding a SL Pro Carbon road bike which I'll use at the UK 70.3 as it is a hilly course and more suited to a road bike and for road racing here in Jersey. There is a good road racing scene here.

I'll still be using High 5 nutrition which I have been using for 3 years now and it's never let me down and Asics shoes from Profeet. So I have got some of the best kit out there, without this support it would be a struggle to get by as most of you know it is not the cheapest of sports and the support from these sponsors is much appreciated.

Chinja

Nick "

Nick has opted for the 'pro's choice' of the 'OMFG' specification for the SL Pro Carbon. The spec on this bike is quite frightening..!

Top

Outlook for 2008 from Nick

" I have been back into structured training now for 3 weeks in preparation for IM South Africa in April. I did keep training after Hawaii but it was all easy and just really meant to keep me ticking over.
I had my good friend, Tim Don over with his girlfriend Kelly for the weekend before he headed out to South Africa. His elbow had healed nicely and he is on track for a good year ahead. It was good having him over to chat about training etc. I'll be heading out to South Africa in 3 weeks and will do the odd session with Tim so I am going to get an arse kicking! What a privilege to train with a world champion!

Last year was a big learning experience for me, Hawaii was awesome but I did not feel like I raced it, I went there to learn and experience the event. I will concentrate on incorporating more speed into my training which I lacked last year, mainly because I have trained on my own for the last 2 years so have probably not pushed it like I should. I have a few guys that I am coaching here in Jersey, that really helps me push it a lot more when I need to. I hope to build a good base going into IMSA and then pick it up for IM Switzerland in July. Then it will be Hawaii if I qualify.

I hope to have sponsors sorted for the year ahead in the next couple of weeks thanks to Richard Downey. It is so hard to train full time without their support.

Keep coming back to the website where i hope to get more news and phoos as the year progresses.

Chinja

Nick "

Top

Update from Nick himself !
After doing some travelling (best not talk about it) in a Mobile Home / Winnebago with his girl Alexa, Nick is now back in Jersey and yes, you've guessed it he's training twice a day already !
He sent in these words:

" So Hawaii is done. It was a great experience although I am not that happy with my result, I was hoping to go better than 37th. I raced conservatively knowing I HAD to finish so was careful not to push too hard. I was not happy with the swim and realise I must be more aggresive at the start. The cycle was tough as I was on my own for a lot of it and I know then that my marathon was good but was probably because I did not smash the bike. A lot of guys pulled out so that is why I should be happy with the result on my first attempt.

The year itself has been an up and down one, New Zealand IM was a break through into the top five of an Ironman but I was still a bit off the pace. My half Ironman results were ordinary and I would like to improve on those and of course I would like to improve on my Hawaii position, I think a top 20 would be realistic if I get my training right. I need to get more speed in the legs and on the swim.

My next race is Ironman South Africa, I'll be heading out there 8 weeks before to train. Then I may do Ironman France or the UK70.3, depends if I qualify for Hawaii.

Thanks to High5, Profeet and Orca; and to Rik for doing my website and of course to my girlfriend Alexa for all her support.

Chinja

Nick "

Top

Ironman Hawaii - 37th Position
Nick recorded 9hrs 5mins and 1 second to gain 37th place at the World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

Check out Nick's report to tri247.com HERE.

You can see his stats and see him cross the line via the IronmanLive website HERE!.

Top

Jersey Triathlon - 1st Position
Nick took on some strong opposition and came through to comfortably win the Jersey Triathlon on homesoil recently.

Here is the report he sent to tri247.com.

And also some photos of the event are HERE.

Top

---

June 17th 2007::

UK 70.3 - 6th Position
Nick overcame a tough few weeks and tricky decision leading up to the Half Ironman UK 70.3 only to enter and record a solid 6th position at Wimbleball, Devon, UK.

The race featured some well known Pro athletes and Nick consolidated a steady swim and bike with a good run despite some tummy troubles. Check out Nick's splits in the Results page.

Words to come soon from the big man, but for now here is a report he sent in to tri247.com.

Top

---

June 8th 2007::

Report of Austria 70.3
" It's been a bad couple of weeks at the office, the race in Austria did not go well for me. I felt bad from the start and knew I was going to struggle. I could not hold onto anyone's pace during the race and had to pull myself around.
Good to finish though, I have vowed never to pull out of a race which is always the easy option so had to finish but the thought did cross my mind a couple of times! I am on antibiotics now and have to take a couple of days off, I went cycling yesterday and could not get my heart rate over 90! warning bell!!?
I am not sure how I will go at UK 70.3 or if I will even do it for that matter as it may affect my performance at the European long course.

Chinja "

Top

---

June 3rd 2007::

Austria 70.3
Nick struggled in the fortnight leading up to Austria with a virus and toughed it out into 19th position. He is now kicking back on a course of antibiotics hoping he can go stronger at Half Ironman UK in two weeks time.
I'm sure he'll type some words for the website soon!

Top

---

May 18th 2007::

ORCA Sponsorship
Nick welcomes a new sponsor in the shape of leading wetsuit manufacturers Orca, of New Zealand. Nick joins a high pedigree of athlete racing in the best wetsuit a triathlete can buy.

Top

---

May 15th 2007::

Selection for GB
Nick will race for GB at the European and World Championships Long Course Triathlon Championships in Belgium (24th June) and France (15th July) respectively.
See the revised SCHEDULE which is looking quite full now !

Top

---

May 8th 2007::

9th Place at Lisbon Half Ironman
" Back from Lisbon, I came 9th. The swim and bike reflected the shape I am in, which is not quite race fit, I did it tough on the second half of the run were I lost a couple of places.
I just don't have the miles in my legs so that is what I will be working on over the next 4 weeks,  I then am off to Austria for the 70.3 and two weeks later UK 70.3.
The race was won by Jimmy Johnsen from Denmark who set his win up on the bike and put together a solid run. It was a very windy day and by the time we got to the run it was well into the mid 20's(celcius).So it is straight back into training, I'll post more news up before Austria.
Chinja"

CLICK HERE for a PDF of the race results which has Nick placed 10th - but only with a 'relay' entry in 6th!!?

Top

---

May 3rd 2007::

Back into it and off to Lisbon
" I am sitting in the lounge waiting to go to Lisbon, the flight is delayed by over an hour so it will be a late night! I have been back in training for 5 weeks now, I am getting into a routine having just moved back to Jersey and into a new house, joined a new squad (the local tri club) and finding cycling/run routes. The training has been going ok,the main reason for doing the half ironman in Lisbon is to see in what shape I am in, which I hope is not too bad and then it will be back into it next week, my main focus for now is Half Ironman UK in June and then it's all about Hawaii and trying to get all the miles in and getting the nutrition right for what I think will be a hot day.
I am working on strength in the gym a lot. I'll post some news up after Lisbon,there are a few good guys entered so I think it will be quite competitive.
Chinja"

Top

---

March 13th 2007::

Place at Ironman Hawaii CONFIRMED !!
After rumours that he had qualified for the World Champ Ironman race Nick has indeed confirmed his place in this prestigious race on October 13th 2007.

Check the revised schedule now !

Also check this report Nick sent in to tri247.com - CLICK HERE for a link to their site.

Top

---

March 3rd 2007::

5th Position - Ironman New Zealand
In a time of 8hrs 57mins 31secs Nick put in a solid Ironman New Zealand today - words to come from him soon !

A 'full' break down (literally) of results/rankings for Nick can be seen HERE courtesy of Ironman NZ website.

Check the Gallery for some recent pics and see the Results page for split times.

Top

---

February 25th 2007::

Ready for IMNZ
"Just about to head off to NZ, we leave on Wednesday 28th February. Training has gone well, I have picked up the intensity and volume. I have been getting advice from John Mergler who I used to train with when I was last in Aus. He is a machine, he's 47 and can really ride a bike and has a lot of knowledge about training. He is from the Epic Camp school of thought. I have really tested limits in this phase thanks to John. After the race in Tasmania where I came a disappointing 8th it made me get my butt into gear and get training properly. I have been sponsored by High5 nutrition while I have been out here and I cannot emphasise enough how important that has been, you can only get out of your training what you put in when it comes to nutrition. Thanks to John Hill for that. I have also done some training with his group which has been good. I got a new bike since being out here, a Giant Trinity Pro from InnerCity Cycles, it's awesome! So it's NZIM on Saturday the 3rd. A good field has entered, follow it on Ironmanlive.com. I hope to be up there. Take care and happy training.

Chinja "

Top

---

December 3rd 2006::

News from Downunder
" I am having a couple of weeks of easy active recovery, went down to Margaret River with Alexa (my lucky girlfriend) and then to Perth for a few days.Back in Sydney now and I'll start training for IMNZ on the 17/12.I'm really chuft with my race in WA,my prep was 8 weeks of aerobic training,I did not want to go into the race in peak condition as there is a long season ahead so it was just all base training for IMNZ.Jason Shortis flew around Bussleton in a record time of 8hrs 3min.There was a field of 27 pro's entered so I am stoked to get a top ten,I was hoping to break 7th,hopefully in NZ!? I'll be training a lot harder for IMNZ,doing a lot more quality.Next race before NZ is a half Ironman in Tasmania on the 14/1/07.I'll be using this as a hit out and won't be tapering much for it.
I'll post some news up after the Tassie race,off to bed! "

Top

---

7th Position at Ironman Western Australia
Nick confirmed his love of the number 7 with another solid Ironman race in Busselton - completed within the last 9 hours. He'll no doubt be climbing into some cold pizza as we speak..!

Check his splits by clicking this link below.

NICK'S RACE TIMES !

Top

---

August 20th 2006::

7th Position at Ironman UK
Nick came through a tough run to consolidate a steady Swim and Bike to finish in 7th (6th Pro) at Sherborne, Dorset in the Ironman UK 2006.
More news and feedback to come soon - plus photos !

Top

---

July 8th 2006::

Nick off to France for some warm weather training
Having recently been ill following a dodgy sausage on the bbq, Nick is taking a relative break out in southern France for a bit of hard training in the Alps. Perhaps catching some of Le Tour also.

Top

---

June 18th 2006::

Nick places 7th at Half Ironman UK
Quote from the big man himself:

"I was happy with it considering all my training has been aerobic up to that point, no speed work so I did not expect to set the world alight but I did want to make the top ten. It is the hardest course I have done, a lot of hills on the bike and run, the only flat part was the swim but straight after that we had to run up a 400m hill to the transition. My heart rate was 184 running up it, I had to slow down a bit as I was breathing out of my arse anyway!
Took it easy on the bike as it was such a hard course and when it came to the run I was in 6th place, I lost a place to Clas Bjorling from Sweden who ran into 5th"

Top

---

June 4th 2006::

TriFest06 - Sprint Triathlon - 4th Place
Results available to view online at:
Big Cow Sports Events

Top

---